なぜわれわれはSNSに依存するのか？ : SNSに“ハマる”心理

Abstract

Social media has made tremendous progress with the rapid spread of smartphones. The use of social networking services（SNS）has become a second nature, and there have been major changes in how we communicate. The purpose of this paper is to clarify the background to, and psychological characteristics of SNS dependence. SNS are deeply involved in everyday life for those in the younger generations, and people who are likely to become dependent on SNS are stressed by actual human relationships. In addition, SNS not only fulfill a praise-seeking need for approval such as hoping to be in the spotlight, but also have an important meaning as something that assures a rejection-avoidance need for approval, namely, the feeling of “not wanting to be disliked by everyone.” For this reason, people with a dependency on SNS strongly seek connections with people who understand them while paying excessive attention to communication they engage in. As a result, an addiction to human relationships is formed. At present we have a “fear of alienation”, that we will be isolated if we neglect to care for others. Yet SNS have the advantages of alleviating this fear that we might be disillusioned with knowing ourselves as we are, and allowing us to choose a specific relationship with a reduced risk of being hurt. Thus, we are addicted to SNS.